


These Demons We Share

by Confetti_Lord



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bonding, Boys Kissing, Fluff, M/M, Making Out, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Stephen is a good friend, Tony Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-04 06:19:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14586828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Confetti_Lord/pseuds/Confetti_Lord
Summary: [SPOILER FOR INFINITY WAR IN BEGINNING]Infinity War happened and everyone was brought back through the use of the time stone and Tony is glad to see everyone well and alive but the memories from the destruction of Thanos still haunts him. No one can see him struggling apart from the one man who knows the pain of living with such regret and emotional baggage.[I REPEAT, SPOILER FOR INFINITY WAR IN BEGINNING]





	These Demons We Share

“I don’t feel so good…’  
“I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go…”

The scene haunted Tony nearly every single time he closed his eyes to rest, made him wake in a cold sweat and accelerated heart rate. Pepper was no help, she would only leave their bed to sleep in another bedroom for the rest of the night. Tony didn’t blame her, it wasn’t easy to deal with him at really any time and everyone had their limits. 

This continuous cycle had only been stopped when one night he woke to find the damn Sorcerer Supreme standing at the foot of his bed. Tony’s wired reaction was to groan, roll his eyes, then roll onto his stomach to cover his face by his pillow. Tony hoped it looked like he was ignoring the magician, which he was, but he wanted to look presentable so he used his pillow to dry his sweat damp face. 

“Stark, we need to speak. It could wait till morning to be discussed if you want me to just wait right here until then.” , the dry joke which Tony couldn’t tell how serious Strange was being made him try to think of a reply to match the attitude but he wasn’t too much in the mood to entertain the Doctor though. Tony rolled himself back onto his back, using his elbows to prop himself up so he could face Strange. “Look here Doc, I am trying to rest and get my well earned sleep, you may not have known but I need it to produce replies to match your attitude towards me in my own home.” , Tony tapped his fingers on the bed underneath him, hoping Strange would take the hint and leave.

It was a rare sight for Tony to see Strange let his guard down as his shoulders slouched when he motioned for his cape to slide off of his shoulders and rest upon a chair across the room, Strange sat on the end of Tony’s bed and looked at him with sincerity in his eyes. Tony had a dreadful feeling that he was going to be given bad news which he definitely was not ready for. Stephen let out a load exhale which brought Tony’s mind back to the present from drifting off in worrying, “I know you've had a hard time with moving on from Thanos' terror which is understandable but you need to talk about it and get help.”

That definitely annoyed Tony, he felt as though Strange was calling him weak for struggling. He was about to talk back and say that he doesn't need to talk about it before Strange cut in, “I've struggled with moving on too. I have struggled with coming to terms with the fact my hands will never work the same again, struggled with all the deaths I had when fighting Dormammu. We all have our demons and need to find an outlet to move on and stay strong for those who need you to be.” Stephen put his hand on Tony’s blanket covered foot which gave Tony an oddly heartwarming feeling of human contact but he was slightly uncomfortable with the situation of him laying in his pajamas in his bed with Stephen all decked out in his wizardly apparel apart from the cape.

“So is that why you are in my bedroom in the middle of the night? To tell me I need to talk about my problems? No one wants to listen to my long running list of problems. There isn't enough time even to go through everything.” , Tony kept his guard up as he didn't want to let Strange in, he couldn't let him in. Stephen readjusted himself on the end of the bed to be a bit more comfortable where he sat. He tried to give a hopeful look at Tony, “I have the Eye of Agamotto, I have all the time in the world to listen to you Tony.” It hit hard of how serious that offer was when Strange used Tony’s first name to address him. 

Tony was hesitant to open up about his past, not sure where to start on his sob stories. “Well my ex friend’s best friend killed my father and mother then my ex friend hid that fact from me.” Tony paused to look at Strange when he realized he was staring down at his blanket, he took a shaky breath before continuing. “I created Ultron and in the end many people died because of me and my mind.” 

“We all make bad choices that we wish we could undo but you push past it and become a better person from it. Ultron was not just your mistake from what I know of the events of his creation, don't put all that weight on just yourself. You've seen so much, held so much weight… Just let it go Tony, the majority of people forgive you. I forgive you.” , Tony couldn't see Strange clearly to see his face as his eyes had started watering. He had been told the whole ‘bad choices to good character’ reel before but it hit close when he was forgiven and he wished he could forgive himself that easily. 

While Tony was thinking, Stephen had gotten up and sat on the edge of Tony’s bed next to him. Tony was about to wipe his eyes off on his arm but before he could lift his arm up, he felt a tissue being placed in his palm. “Thank you Strange..” , Tony managed to keep his voice steady as he wiped up the tears that were ready to fall. “Why forgive me? I haven't done enough to repair my choices.”

“I forgive you because you are trying your damn best. I respect effort when well placed, I had reached a low point too and I know it's hard to recover…” There was a heavy quiet sitting between the two as they sat there, Stephen decides to move on as he's thinking waring on Tony’s tired openness. He knew if he pushed too much once Tony opened up that he'd shut down immediately. “How do you deal with your nightmares? I'm guessing you don't but I have some ideas that would help you curb the nightmares over time. Like, when you wake up right away create a mantra to yourself to settle down such as ‘I am okay’.”

Tony shook his head in reply, “I usually try to do a breathing exercise but it doesn't do much...Especially when I wake up alone or right when Pepper leaves the room..” , the words pained Tony when they came out, he hadn't tried to think much about how he felt when Pepper did what she did. Stephen cleared his throat, “I see. I was going to suggest some sort of… Affection to settle you after a nightmare, overwhelm your fear with pleasure or just happiness.” , Stephen had stared at his trembling hands while speaking of the method, obviously uncomfortable talking about that with Tony.

“I don't mean to be keeping you up, I should allow you to rest and I'll return tomorrow afternoon.” , Stephen smoothed his fingers over the wrinkles in his pants before standing up. Once he was standing up his wrist was grabbed by Tony, the grip wasn't strong like a forceful motion but it was pleading. “Please stay the night..You can rest anywhere you like and treat yourself to my fridge or anything but please don't leave me..” , Tony had the best pleading puppy eyes Stephen had ever seen and he didn't even know it was possible for the billionaire to show such need for someone but Stephen was willing to supply. He nodded in agreement to Tony’s plead, walking to the other side of the bed and sitting down.

There was a slight awkward silence that hung in the air until Stephen could hear Tony’s soft snoring that indicated he had fallen asleep. Stephen wanted to sleep but he needed to protect the stone and also watch over Tony in case he has another nightmare so he settles for laying out on the side of bed that he sat on and summon a book to read for the remaining hours of night. It was quite easy for Stephen to lose track of time while reading, his attention only pulled out when Tony rolled or mumbled in his sleep although it wasn’t that often that he did.

It was only when the electronic window blinds opened to let in the early morning light was Stephen brought completely out of his concentrated state, he felt rested although he hadn’t slept any. Jarvis had stayed suspiciously quiet which Stephen found odd as he imagined it’d be Jarvis’ duty to wake Tony. When a few minutes past in silence, Stephen took it upon himself to wake the sleeping Tony that lay next to him on his side facing away. He rested his trembling hand on the sleeping figure’s shoulder and nudged it a bit, receiving a grumble of complaint in return. 

“Tony, it's time to get up. I think you have things to do today.” , Stephen tried to speak loudly but with a soft tone to be comforting but heard. It was obviously enough to wake Tony as he rolled onto his back and stretched his arms above his head, grinning at Stephen with his sleepy eyes. Stephen felt like a teenager with butterflies in his stomach when looking down at the messy haired and soft eyed genius billionaire. He had a strong urge to lean down and kiss the pale plump now yawning lips of Tony but it was definitely not appropriate for someone who married and on top of that, straight. 

It was if Tony read Stephen's mind because while Stephen was admiring his features, Tony leaned up onto his elbows and forearms to bring his face close to Stephen's, “Do you want anything in return for me taking your time? It's the least I can do for you.” It was a risk, but Stephen was willing to take it as it seemed pretty obvious to him that Tony would let him do what he wanted. He closed the gap between their faces, pressing his lips against Tony’s. They were more soft to the touch than what Stephen had expected. While they're lips rested together for the first few seconds, Stephen placed his hand upon Tony’s cheek.

It was probably a minute long kiss before they pulled away and Tony fell back down onto his bed, letting a long contented sigh. “I really needed that. Come by anytime Strange, I enjoyed our night and waking moment a lot.” , the smile Tony gave Stephen was so genuine it made Stephen happy and he couldn't help but smile back at Tony. Stephen sat back on the bed, looking over Tony’s face once before sliding off the bed and stretching his legs. He wanted to stay in bed next to the genius so badly but he couldn't so he had to tear himself away.

“I'll probably stop by tonight to check in on you, maybe we could enjoy a movie together or some activity. Might help keep your mind from slipping into the dark thoughts. You probably know where I will be and how to contact me if you need me before then, have a good day Tony.” , Stephen gave a light wave in goodbye to Tony, getting a head nod in acknowledgement and small wave before Stephen summons a portal back to his room, commanding his cape onto him before exiting through.

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more smut in later chapters! Hopefully I will make around 3 to 4 chapters depending on the content I can think of to add to this story and these two's dynamics. Hope you enjoyed the read!


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